Wednesday, May 3, 2017

The Value of Research. IWSG - May 2016.

It's IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without
fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire
can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure
writers of all kinds. The brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh, our brilliant ninja leader. To read other members, click here.

This month, I'm going for the optional question, "What is the weirdest, coolest thing you’ve had to research
for your story?"

Since I write freelance feature stories for local/regional
magazines, I’ve had a lot of fun researching things I don’t know about, including
the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (complete with a ghost story on George’s
Island), encaustic art (which means painting with wax) and the best local places to get a batch of fried clams. Awesome,
right? Well, before I wrote the fried clam story, I didn’t eat them. Now I do.

Then there’s the oyster story. I mean raw, on the half shell. Let’s catapult
back a lot of years. The first time I ate an oyster, I was in my early
twenties, at a reception with my father, who plied me with gin and then
escorted me to the raw bar. When I hesitated, he said, “All you do is swish it
around in your mouth a few times, then swallow.” Ugh. Anyway, at his behest I
slurped one down, and thank goodness for the gin, because the only way that
thing was staying in my belly was via a juniper chaser.

I never touched a raw one again, until taking an assignment
to write about seafood restaurants heavy on oysters. (One of the restaurants was called "Oysters," so you can see there was no getting around it.) Truth be told, as repulsive as the bivalves are, I always wanted to like them, to the point I’ve even read books about
them. Finally, about eight years ago, I started eating them fried. But the real
deal means eating them au natural, if you will, and a deadline was looming.So, for the second time in my life, I slurped
one down. And then two and three. Now I eat them, fried or raw (still hoping to try them barbecued), but if it weren’t
for my back being against the wall because of the deadline in front of me, I’d
never have tasted another. The takeaway here is that while research will
make your story better, it may also enhance your life.

Food aside, the coolest thing I’ve researched is Second
Sight, the psychic ability of those of Celtic heritage to foresee the future,
including death. This plays a big part in the book I’m getting ready to query.

And, while I believe in extra-sensory perception, I promise
you, that day with my Dad, I would never have predicted I'd come to love eating oysters.

Haha...I'm with you on the oysters. It's not the taste that I don't like, but rather the slimy.The first time I slurped one down was after I lost a bet, and the deal was: no sauce, no lemon, and no chaser. Since then, I've slurped a few more but only after I've had a few beers. Can't say I'm fond of the taste, but I slurp to see if I'll ever come to love them. And interesting about the Second Sight. Now I'm curious and will have to Google that.

Yep, I'm not a raw oyster fan. But I appreciate your conversion! I do believe a study of the unknown either for our writing, or visual art helps us begin to see and open to our wondrous world. In Bruce Chatwin's Songlines you find out the Australian Aboriginal people wake up their world by singing to it. Really, they are waking up their own selves and taking responsibility for the natural world. Paying attention does that. Great post.

We always had oyster stew around the holidays when I was growing up. And ewwwwww. But I learned to love them at a breakfast bar in New Orleans. Must have been them Mimosas. Alcohol definitely helps! What fun research you've done! Raging envy!

That's a really cool point about research enhancing your life! I never thought about that. I can't bear seafood in general and I don't think even a whole bottle of gin could get a raw oyster down my throat LOL.

Kudos to you for giving them another go, even if it was deadline-enforced! Funny where research can take you. I don't think I could ever eat a raw one - I imagine it to be squidgy, like a mushroom, and I can't eat anything like that. I've heard of second sight - certainly an interesting research area.

Smoked oysters, oyster stew, fried oysters, and oyster dressing at Thanksgiving have always been part of my "middle of the country" experience. Raw on the half shell? Only if I am on the coast and the provenance of the oysters is reliable. I am really intrigued by the psychic ability of Celts, Did not know this.

Interesting how you came about to like oysters. I guess I won't ever volunteer to research oysters then. I watched a friend at a party eat them, and she showed me and explained how you have to do it. I just couldn't do it...even though I like sushi.

About Me

Opportunity arrives unexpectedly. When corporate financial circumstances forced the elimination of my position after 23 years, it was as if someone shook a carbonated bottle—the next day Middle Passages bubbled out. This blog contains it all—my reinvention, the joy as I encounter my surroundings—even pictures of my subject matter, so you can judge the results. Above all, Middle Passages serves as a platform through which I'm teaching myself to use words to their maximum potential. I’d love to hear your thoughts.